From the Inside
by CrazyBeaver
Summary: Agent William Brandt didn't like it when things didn't go according to plan. Now was one of those many cases. Benji & Brandt centric. Reviews are welcome!
1. Chapter 1

_Okay, I had some problems while writing this, being too busy. I hope you enjoy it though! And I also hope to be able to update soon..._

_Disclaimer: I don't own either M:IGP or any of its characters :(_

**Chapter 1**

Agent William Brandt didn't like it when things didn't go according to plan. Unfortunately, this seemed to be happening all the time.

The mission was ridiculously easy. All they had to do was break into the building, locate two hostages somewhere inside it (a woman and a little girl, the wife and the daughter of a person whose name the team weren't told) and break them out.

The complications had started early on, when the team was on their way.

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_Brandt was sitting in the back of the van with his eyes closed, enjoying the silence he knew wouldn't last long._

_He opened his eyes to look around. Benji was typing on his laptop, biting on a pen absentmindedly. Why did he even need a pen? He wasn't writing anything. Brandt assumed it was there just so that Benji would have something to bite on. He was about to comment on it but the Englishman spoke first._

"_Okay, this is a slight wrinkle…" he started, and Ethan tensed in the driver's seat. Last time he had heard this phrase ended with one of the craziest things he had ever had to do._

"_I can see where the server room in this building is," Benji went on, looking at the screen. "But I can't break into the system from here. It would take too long. I need to get inside"._

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Brandt finished off a huge goon and raised his head to see how Jane and Ethan were doing. They had to help Benji break into the server room, keeping the goons busy and distracted. The place was well-guarded, and the agents had a lot of work to do. What was the most worrying, though, was that they hadn't heard from Benji for quite a while…

"Look out!" Jane yelled, but Brandt was only quick enough to turn round. The punch he received sent pain through his entire body. Luckily, Ethan was there to knock the guard out cold, as Brandt leaned on the wall and slid down, hissing in pain and gasping for air. Jane knelt beside him, trying to check on his condition.

"Your rib seems broken," she uttered quickly. _Great_.

Ethan rushed to the elevator, pressing the call button franticly. Nothing. He ran to the stairs, but the door was blocked. They were trapped on that floor.

"Benji!" he shouted into his mic in pure despair, hoping the tech to answer at last. _What was going on?..._

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Agent Dunn was approaching the server room with his gun in his hands, trying to be as quiet as possible.

"Entering the server room," he muttered and heard Ethan's acknowledgement in his earpiece.

It seemed to be too quiet in the room. Benji felt a bit confused. But he didn't have the time to think about it. He saw dozens of screens around him (obviously the entire building was filled with cameras) and spotted the hostages. On another screen he could see his team dealing with the guards…

A quiet noise behind him made the tech turn just in time to dodge a heavy punch aimed at his head. After a short range of movements the goon was on the ground. Benji couldn't hide the grin on his face. Even Ethan himself would be proud of that. His enthusiasm wiped out when he glanced at the screen again, and his heartbeat fastened. Brandt seemed to be hurt. _Shit_.

And then he realized one more thing. He saw his team on the screen but couldn't hear them in his earpiece. It looked like the signal was being blocked inside the room.

He was about to run out of the room to contact the team when he saw something on a computer screen, which made him go pale.

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Ethan was about to attempt to smash the door when he suddenly heard a familiar voice in his earpiece. Jane and Brandt seemed to hear it, too, as they sighed in slight relief. The signal wasn't very strong; however, Benji's voice was quite audible.

"The hostages are five stories above you, wings A and C, to the left and to the right from you. Rooms 777 and 128. We've got to hurry – they've activated a bomb, the place will blow up in ten minutes".

"The doors are blocked!" Ethan yelled, a bit frustrated at his tech specialist.

"I'm on it!" Benji's reply was followed by a whole range of loud noises. And then it was quiet.

"Benji?" Jane called hesitantly. There was no answer.

"What the hell was that?" Brandt asked weakly, slowly getting to his feet.

"Could be something with the signal," Ethan suggested. He was worried, too, but he just couldn't allow himself to panic, especially under such circumstances.

"Sounded pretty much like gunfire to me," Brandt's voice was now louder with worry and irritation.

They stood like that for a minute or so when they heard the elevator start moving. Apparently, Benji was doing his job.

"Brandt, you take the elevator and get out," Ethan ordered. "Jane and I'll take the stairs".

Brandt hesitated for a while. What about Benji? He had opened those doors, so he could probably get out in time, too… But what if he couldn't? Wincing and hissing in pain, Brandt staggered into the elevator. He was beginning to understand why Ethan had ordered him to leave straight away. He really needed to get out, and he didn't know how long it would take him to get far enough. After giving it a thought, he pressed the needed button.


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Okay, this update was quick, but I honestly don't know when the next one is going to be. I hope you will enjoy this chapter and will not want to kill me for it…_

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything about Mission: Impossible._

**Chapter 2**

"I'm on it!" Benji turned to run back into the room and sensed someone else's presence behind him. He turned round sharply, and two gunshots followed immediately. Once again proud of his reaction, Dunn watched the man fall down, blood trickling from a small dot on his head. Something felt wrong, however, and he looked down, only to see a wound in his own stomach. _Oh my…_ He remembered when Jane had got hit in Mumbai. He could tell he was far less lucky this time than she had been, as the blood was flowing unstoppably, already forming a small puddle on the floor where he was standing. And then it hit him. The incredible, blinding pain.

At first he wanted to contact the others and tell them he'd been hurt but then cut himself off. Thoughts were rushing in his head in chaos, as if trying to be quick enough. It wouldn't be of any help. Jane and Ethan had to save the hostages, and Brandt was barely in the state to get out in time by himself. _The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Or the one._ Benji even smirked at the quote from so many years ago. Gathering all his strength, he headed to the controls. He had to let the team out of the trap. He couldn't let them down. Not now.

After his second or third step he fell to the floor, yelping in pain. Making his way to the controls was probably the most difficult and painful experience of Benji's life. It took all of his willpower to crawl all the way across the room (was it really that big?), leaving a trace of blood behind him. Getting up high enough to reach the keyboard proved to be even worse.

Having unblocked the doors, he slid down to the floor, panting with every breath. _I hope you will make it, guys…_

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Jane ran upstairs as fast as she possibly could. She didn't like the very idea of holding hostages to begin with, but holding a little girl separately from her mother… Carter could only imagine how frightened the child could be. She had to make it in time. And hope her teammates would be fine.

Having finally reached her destination, she opened the door (looked like Benji _was_, indeed, doing his job, which gave her a slight relief in the back of her mind). In the far corner there sit a five year old girl, still with tears on her face. Upon seeing Jane she started sobbing loudly, and it took quite a while for the agent to convince the child that she would be fine and see her mommy soon. They had to hurry up.

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Ethan had more than one worry in his head as he sped up to the second hostage's location. Apart from getting the kid and woman out in time, there were also Benji and Brandt. Ethan knew Brandt well enough to doubt he would obey that easily. It had been a difficult choice to give him such an order to begin with, and Hunt knew how stubborn his fellow agent was. Well, all of them were, to be honest. He decided to concentrate on running instead of those thoughts. They didn't have much time.

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Brandt went out of the elevator and found himself in a dimly lit corridor. He remembered seeing the server room's location on Benji's computer and made his way towards it, hissing and gasping as he did so. He saw someone lying a few feet away from him, and his chest tightened. He began to run towards the body but instantly realized it was a terrible idea. Steadying his breath and slowing down a bit, he finally saw the man's face. With a bullet hole right in the forehead. Brandt couldn't help the sigh of relief that escaped from his mouth as the man clearly wasn't his friend. What if Benji was already outside? And Brandt was wasting time overreacting… And then he saw something on the floor not far away. Something that made him sick. As he approached it, he blinked forcefully. It was, indeed, blood, and there was more of it leading into the room. Following the trace, he staggered inside, with his gun on full alert. When he finally saw where the trace was actually leading, his mouth went dry at once. He felt that his legs were about to give in any moment and made a heroic effort to pull himself together as he crossed the room, approaching something he was praying not to be Benji. However, this time his prayers weren't heard…


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: Thank you for all the reviews! They really mean a lot to me!_

_Okay, this one was fast, too. Guess my muse was in a good mood. I hope you enjoy this chapter!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything about Mission: Impossible._

**Chapter 3**

Benji was lying on the floor, trying not to move, as even the slightest flinch multiplied his pain. According to his calculations, he had about six minutes left. Or maybe less. He hoped to at least pass out before the "deadline" because he didn't want to acknowledge being torn into pieces. He closed his eyes. _Maybe I should think about something… something nice._ He tried to imagine being in one of his happiest memories but all he could see was darkness. He opened his eyes in order just to see something instead of that emptiness. Only the dullness of the ceiling this time. There was some distracting sound… as if someone was calling his name…

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"Benji?" Brandt breathed, kneeling by his friend's side and ignoring the pain caused by this motion. He tried not to look at the blood all over the place, some of which was already on his own clothes. The wound looked really bad, and Benji clearly needed serious help. The technician seemed to be conscious (at least partially) but paid absolutely no attention to the analyst, as if not hearing or seeing him. "Benji, look at me," Brandt's voice started shaking. "Please".

Benji finally turned his head towards him.

"Oh hi, Will," he nearly whispered, producing his usual big childish grin which was ten thousand times out of place now and sent shivers down Brandt's spine. A few seconds passed, and his gaze became slightly more focused, and his face became stern and slightly panicked.

"What are you doing here?" he asked strictly. Or, better to say, he wanted to sound strict but didn't quite succeed, as forcing every word out of his mouth seemed unbelievably difficult right now.

Brandt wanted to say something in the lines of "saving your skin" but realized just how pathetic he looked.

"You still have some time," it _was_ a whisper this time. Benji then shut his mouth tightly, trying to suppress the tears which had been building up in his eyes without him even realizing it. "Get out of here".

"No," Brandt finally managed to say, rising to his feet and grabbing his friend's arms, trying to pull him up. The sharp movement, no matter how careful the analyst was, made Benji scream in pain. Brandt also yelped and fell to his knees, dropping his fellow agent to the floor. The horror of the situation hit him like a brick in the head. He couldn't save him. Couldn't save his best friend.

Benji wasn't holding his tears back anymore.

"Get out while you still can," he half-growled, half-sobbed. Seeing how William was just staring at him in plain terror made him angry. He was willing to punch Brandt in the face if that could make him leave and save himself. This anger gave him a sudden rush of energy. Reaching the edges of the desk nearby, he grabbed it firmly and pulled himself up, sniffling and shaking badly.

Shocked, Brandt rushed to his friend's side and wrapped his arms around his chest, trying to both keep Benji steady and not to hurt himself. One thought, though, filled his entire soul with murderous fear. The thought he knew was true.

"Benji, I…" tears were finally sliding down his face. How could you tell your friend you were unable to help him? How could you tell _anyone_ that? "I can't…"

He was cut off by the technician's glance. Benji certainly didn't have much strength left, and he couldn't spend it on talking.

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Jane and Ethan met outside the building, allowing the girl to finally reunite with her mother. They had to keep moving though, they needed to get to safety.

Jane gave Ethan a questioning look. He knew what it meant.

"They must be in the van," he suggested. But he wasn't that sure. None of them contacted him or Jane. It was like they just went missing.

The worries were proven right when the group ran up to the van to find it empty.


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: this is a longer chapter… I hope you won't kill me for it…_

_Disclaimer: still don't own them :(_

**Chapter 4**

"Where are they?" Jane demanded. Ethan looked just as confused and worried as she was.

"Brandt? Benji?" he called in panic but heard no response in his earpiece. He still hoped they had gotten out of the building and gone in some different direction.

"What if they're still there?" Carter voiced Ethan's worst fear. "They might need help," she started moving towards the place they had escaped mere minutes before but Hunt was quick enough to grab her by the elbow.

"Too late," he tried not to sound completely freaked out, and as a result, his voice didn't have any expression at all. "Two minutes left. You won't make it".

They both just stood in silence, breathing heavily, looking at the only high building in the area, probably with their friends in it, waiting for it to collapse and simply not knowing what else to do.

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Brandt couldn't say anything as he was preparing himself for another fall and more pain. However, Benji didn't move. When the analyst looked at his face, he saw the almost inhumanly determined expression in it, as the tech was looking at the screen in front of his eyes. Brandt had been through a lot of different situations with his friend, but never had he seen an expression like this. That determination, combined with the very obvious pain and the increasing paleness due to the blood loss, made Benji look much older than he really was. It was a bit scary. Sniffling again and trying to stop his hands from shaking, the technician suddenly started typing something, as Brandt was doing his best to hold him as firmly as he could.

Benji gathered all the strength he had got left, blinking away the tears flowing freely from his eyes (he didn't pay much attention to them; the only thing he noticed was that his vision was becoming blurry from time to time) and the unconsciousness which was threatening to fall. It was kind of funny: when he had wanted to pass out, it hadn't happened, but now, when he needed to focus, darkness was surrounding him with increasing intensity. He would laugh at the irony but he didn't acknowledge it. All he could think about was the way to neutralize the explosive. He was sure it was possible to do that from the server room. He couldn't afford to react when he realized it was true. A reaction would take too much from him. _Come on, Benji, it's just a code. It's easy. No, Uncle Derek, I don't want any ice cream._ He shook his head, trying to focus but it only brought more dizziness. He held his stare at the screen until all he could see were the symbols in it. He was programming himself to crack this code. He had to crack this code. No matter what.

Brandt watched the technician in awe. He saw the counter on the screen… _1 minute left… 59 seconds… 58…_ he unknowingly tightened his grip around his friend, which the latter didn't seem to even notice in his state. Benji was typing really fast, working on some resources which are usually reserved for exceptional occasions. However, William understood that it still could be the end, and that it could be the last… _30 seconds…_ of his life. Brandt was scared. It was a natural thing. No matter how many times he had been in dangerous and life-threatening situations, he still wasn't quite used to accepting the very possibility of dying right then and there. He didn't know how people could gat used to it, to be honest. He shut his eyes tightly and pressed his forehead against Benji's shoulder, trying to get ready for whatever was going to happen. He didn't regret coming there, though. He dreaded to imagine his friend dying here alone. Time passed, and nothing was going on. Brandt opened his eyes to see that that counter had frozen at the "_2 seconds_" point. Benji was still staring at the screen with the same scary expression, only even more pale now. His eyes looked like they were made of glass; they had no life in them.

"You did it, Benji," Brandt breathed in a wave of unbelievable relief. It was all over now. Everything was going to be fine. "You did it".

Brandt's voice seemed to bring Benji back from his trance, as he blinked several times.

"Mission accomplished," he muttered with a tiny smile, and William nearly burst out laughing at that. However, just as he was about to do so, he sensed more of Benji's weight pressing on him, as the adrenaline was wearing off, and all of the tech's strength was finally leaving him.

Brandt lowered him onto the floor as carefully as possible, occasionally hissing in pain caused by the uncomfortable movements.

Benji couldn't hold his grip on reality anymore. Everything seemed to be spinning wildly around him, and he couldn't make it stop. He was lost in this wild, totally uncontrollable world. It became harder to breathe. Brandt must have noticed that, because Benji felt his upper body being lifted up a bit. He started to cough, and everything around him was turning red, and just wouldn't stop spinning around… At least Brandt was there with him…

Brandt's relief began to wear off when he noticed Benji's unfocused gaze. When he lifted the tech up a bit and saw him cough up blood, the relief was completely gone. He suddenly remembered the rest of the team. They must have heard everything, right? But why weren't they responding then?... Same as when they thought they'd lost Benji… And why had Benji been shot _outside_ the server room? The connections were made fast in the analyst's head.

"Benji," William blurted out. "Can you hear me, buddy?" he interpreted the wince that came in response as a sign of agreement. "I've gotta go outside to call for help," Benji's glance seemed to have finally found the source of the voice talking to him. Seeing the expression in his friend's face, Brandt felt a lump in his throat. "I'll be quick, I promise," he added, lowering the tech to the floor gently.

Benji heard those words through the thick mist he found himself in. He was scared, and it was so cold all of a sudden… _No, please don't leave me… I don't want to be alone._ What came out was an incoherent mumble. And he was left alone, with nothing but the cold darkness around him.

"The server room! The bomb's neutralized!" William yelled as soon as he stepped out of the doorframe. He noticed he was standing right in the puddle of blood and took a step aside. "Call an ambulance!" he heard Ethan trying to ask questions but now wasn't the time to be answering them. "Now!" he interrupted his team leader. Without wasting any more time, he turned back.

"See?" he practically fell to his knees by his friend's side in sheer exhaustion and hissed in pain as he did so. "I told you I'd be quick". Seeing how there was no response, he felt his chest tighten once again. "Come on, Benji, wake up," he whispered franticly. "Wake up!" He pressed his fingers on Benji's neck in search for a pulse, and the entire world seemed to stop when he didn't find any…


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: Thank you for all the reviews! I love you all, guys! Here's another chapter! I hope it won't disappoint you!_

_Disclaimer: nope, still don't own them :(_

**Chapter 5**

Brandt inhaled deeply and growled as his damaged rib protested against this motion. At the same time he opened his eyes, getting a headache and dizziness to add to his misery.

"Welcome back, Agent Brandt," a familiar voice spoke warmly. The analyst moved his gaze to see his team leader, who was now sporting an impressive black eye, sitting in a chair by his bed. _Wait_.

"Where am I?" it took Brandt a lot of effort to make his tongue move.

"Hospital," Hunt took a pause as if to give his teammate some time to think, but the analyst didn't feel like thinking right now. "Sorry, I had to sedate you. You've been out for about twenty hours. It might have some side effects but they will wear off".

Brandt rested his head on the pillow. _Fine. Whatever._

Ethan watched the doctor checking up on his friend, mentally reliving the dreadful moments between getting his call, leaving Jane with the ex-hostages with the necessary instructions and entering the small server room with the floor sticky and red because of all the blood covering it, only to find Brandt clutching Benji's lifeless body like a broken doll. It was the image Ethan was unlikely to get out of his mind any time soon.

"Do you remember what happened?" the team leader asked after another pause. He hated himself for this question but he had to check on Brandt's memory. William's eyebrow twitched as he started recalling the events. A few seconds later he glared at the older agent angrily, as if blaming him for making him remember that. His eyes started watering up. He shut them tightly. Images from earlier were going through his mind, creating his own personal horror movie. The last thing he could remember was the paralyzing panic that went through him upon being unable to feel the tech's pulse.

"Benji…" he whispered, opening his eyes and turning to Hunt, "he…" he dreaded the answer to this question (and it _was_ a question in his mind) more than anything. Ethan seemed to have understood that and sighed.

"He's at the surgery," he replied, and Brandt didn't quite know how to react: he was relieved that his friend was alive but if he'd been at surgery that long it meant it was serious. The door opened, letting Carter in. Unlike Ethan, she didn't have any visible bruises but looked just as exhausted as he did. Seeing that Brandt was awake, she smiled with the corners of her mouth, but her eyes were too tired to show any kind of emotion.

"Any news?" Ethan wondered as Jane fell into the chair next to his.

"He's out of the surgery at last," she gave another half-smile as both men let out a breath they had been holding while expecting her answer. "Now we can only hope for the better". She finally turned her look to Brandt. "How are you feeling?"

William was a bit confused by the fact that he didn't quite know how to reply. How on earth was he supposed to feel after being beaten up, nearly blown up and watching his friend dy… _almost_ dying in his arms? And it still wasn't clear whether said friend would be okay.

"I'm fine," he lied. It was the easiest way. Besides, he was already feeling the effects of the medicine the doctor had given him a few minutes before. Soon he was fast asleep once again.

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The following day Brandt was released from hospital with a strict prescription to avoid any sharp movements or physical exercises. That didn't change much for him, however, as he still spent most of his time at that same hospital, occasionally accompanied by Ethan or Jane and sometimes taking turns with them, watching after their fellow agent. Benji should have been awake long ago, and yet he didn't show any signs of improvement whatsoever, despite his injuries seemed to be healing.

The doctors said it was because he had lost too much energy and was taking his time to come back to normal. But nobody could tell how much longer it would take and whether he was going to wake up at all, since they couldn't be sure that there wasn't any brain damage.

The agents would just sit by his side, sometimes telling some stories to keep him company.

Five days had passed like that. It was Brandt's turn now. He had been sitting in silence for a while before sighing, feeling that he needed to say it.

"Listen," he started, already feeling an invisible hand grabbing his throat. "Back in that… server room you did something amazing. _Absolutely amazing_, you hear that? You just pulled yourself together… I didn't know it was even possible to…" he felt he couldn't express his thoughts properly and paused.

"And I know it would be too much for me to ask you to do it again… Screw it, it's not too much. So I demand you to wake up," he swallowed the lump in his throat. "Please. Wake up".

Those words reminded him of the time he had said them before. The images started rising before his eyes, so painfully vivid. _The sheer panic, the despair and the anger he had felt back then… Somebody had to be responsible for this. Someone should have gone with Benji to provide the cover for him. And then he raised his head and saw Ethan approaching them, his eyes wide with shock…_

Shaking the sudden memories away, William tried to keep his tears inside and failed spectacularly. As he cleared his vision from them, he saw a pair of blue eyes looking at him from the pillow…


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: Finally the last chapter! It's quite short but I hope you will like it! And thank you for being with me all this time!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own them._

**Chapter 6**

Brandt watched through the window as the doctors were checking on the technician, telling him something and finally removing the oxygen mask from his face. The analyst's head felt like it was about to burst with all the thoughts which flooded it all of a sudden. The contrast between them was actually capable to drive him crazy. He had finally remembered Ethan's arrival at the server room, and those painful minutes until everything had gone black due to the sedative. On the other hand, there was the present, where Benji wasn't dead, where he was awake and where everything was almost definitely going to be fine. He tried to stick to the second group of thoughts. He liked them better. Brandt's head felt both light and heavy at the same time. Quite a weird feeling. He suddenly remembered he had forgotten to sleep in the past few days.

The door opened and the doctors exited the room, letting the agent in.

"Hey Benj," Brandt tried his best to sound as casual as possible. Dunn tried to smile in response but it only resulted in a wince.

"How are you feeling?" William knew it was a stupid question but he couldn't come up with anything else.

"Never better," the tech's voice was hoarse and weak but it was the sarcastic intonation in it that made Brandt smile for the first time in a long while.

"You gave us all quite a scare there, man," the shadows under the analyst's eyes and his quite disoriented behavior was a clear evidence of that, and it didn't go past Benji's eyes.

"I know," he replied quietly. "I'm sorry".

"No," Brandt hurried to interrupt, seeing how his friend's features dropped. "Don't be… don't you even think…"

Seeing William try to say something but fail like that put a grin on Benji's face, this attempt being far more successful than the previous one.

"I just wanted to say," Brandt paused before blurting out the rest of the sentence, "thank you. You saved my life there…"

Benji looked at him incredulously.

"I was going to thank _you_," he answered. "I couldn't have done it without you".

"Oh, you know," Brandt waved his hand casually. "I'm just the helper, aren't I?"

"No," Benji smiled with the corners of his mouth, his voice being reduced to almost whisper. "If you hadn't been there, I wouldn't have even _tried_…"

Both of them fell silent, as Benji was already tired of talking so much and William was slightly taken aback by his friend's statement. He tried to imagine him lying there in pain, bleeding and just waiting to die. His own exhaustion somehow made his imagination stronger, and he tried to fight it.

The silence was broken when the door opened once again, and agents Hunt and Carter, who had obviously gotten the call from the doctor, came in. Brandt was barely awake, hardly registering his friends' voices, when Jane put her hand on his shoulder.

"You should get some sleep," she said softly.

"Yeah," the analyst murmured, standing up. He then remembered something else.

"Ethan," he called, and went on when he saw his team leader was looking at him. "Sorry for the… you know…"

Agent Hunt touched the already almost healed bruise around his eye and laughed.

"It's okay, Will. It's okay".


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